NOVPUB"I’ll be there before one, no need to rush me!" After paying New Year’s visits to all relatives and sitting in the car on his way home, Xu Qingfan spoke to Xia Xiaoxiao on the phone.
"Pff~ I don’t care what time you arrive; it’s the kitten who told me he missed you!" Xia Xiaoxiao said from the other end of the line.
He laughed, "So you speak cat now, do you!"
"Meow~" Xia Xiaoxiao turned on the speakerphone and brought her mobile to the kitten’s ear, and a pitiful meow instantly came through the microphone.
"Hear that!"
"You better not be mistreating the little guy; can you hear me, little bro? I’ve packed some big prawns for you!"
"Hmph~ Only you would be so cheeky!"
"Oh, right, right, right, can’t talk anymore, I’ve just arrived at Huali College, it looks like someone is trying to call me," Xu Qingfan said as he glanced out at one of Li City’s top four schools, talking to Xia Xiaoxiao.
"Oh!" The girl hung up the phone, calculating in her mind the distance from Huali College to Lianhua Courtyard, figuring she could be home by two and maybe even go out to play if they didn’t nap in the afternoon!
Since starting middle school, Xia Xiaoxiao had rarely had the chance to go out alone with Xu Qingfan, and being as tsundere as she was, she naturally wouldn’t say what she was thinking, but today seemed like a great opportunity!
Xia Xiaoxiao put the cat down, slipped on her slippers, and scampered back to her room.
Looking at herself in the mirror, she struck various poses she thought were cute, eventually putting her right fist near her ear to mimic the signature move of a cat girl from an anime, but unfortunately, no audience witnessed this adorable contrast.
After changing into a pretty dress, she found the birthday gift Xu Qingfan had given her this year from her makeup cabinet—a lip gloss.
"Pout~" After lightly applying it around, she gently smacked her lips together.
Xia Xiaoxiao stretched her hands behind her head and gathered her flowing hair, looking at her youthful and invincible reflection in the mirror, she smiled joyfully.
After tying the hairband around her wrist into a ponytail, she put the lipstick back where it belonged, treasuring it.
The color of the lipstick suited her well, and Xia Xiaoxiao really liked it, although she wasn’t thrilled that all the other girls had it too.
Last year for her birthday, Xu Qingfan gave the same gift—a lipstick—to five girls, saying it was to celebrate their first lipstick as they grew up; but in reality, it was just Xu Qingfan being too lazy to pick different gifts.
Being in her teens, a simple wash with water made Xia Xiaoxiao look beautiful, so she was prepared to go out and still had plenty of time.
She tilted her head thinking, then opened another drawer of her vanity, pulling out her journal.
After turning the lock to ’9260’, she gently opened the locked journal.
Xia Xiaoxiao turned to the most recent page, which read:
2009.1.27, Tuesday, Cloudy.
So boring being home alone on the second day of the new year, Gualv Square was lively during New Year’s. I miss the food from Stinky Dog...
Xia Xiaoxiao picked up her pen, glanced at the sunny scenery outside the window, and began writing:
2009.1.28, Wednesday, Sunny.
Stinky Pig will be home soon; we’ll go out to play!（＾ｖ＾）
After recording her day, Xia Xiaoxiao’s mood was as bright as the weather outside.
...
"Mmm mmm, definitely have time, even if I’m visiting my aunt for New Year, I’ll make time!" Xu Qingfan chatted on the phone with Zhang Chunxue, grinning from ear to ear.
"No need to accompany Wanning and the others!"
Xu Qingfan rattled off one quip after another, "Tsk~ What group of young girls could be as important as you, Auntie? In my heart, your place is like the unbounded, rustling autumn leaves, and the endless flowing Yangtze river... Ahem~ The weather’s so nice today, Auntie, how’s the weather over there?"
Facing his mother’s menacing glare, Xu Qingfan promptly changed the subject.
"Hehehe~ Auntie, aren’t you in Hong Kong? Isn’t the sky above us the same one?"
"Haha, true, true, Auntie, there’s a company in Peng City that makes drones, and I read on forums that they seem to be running out of money lately. I think, could these things be used for delivering takeout?" Xu Qingfan suddenly shifted the conversation.
"Drones, are they reliable?"
"They’re definitely not reliable at this stage, but I think it’s the future trend. Auntie, didn’t you teach me to diversify investments? Can’t put all eggs in one basket!" Xu Qingfan thought, after all, it was the prestigious DJI, how could it not be reliable?
Their current investments are mainly in three areas, one being real businesses like Good Taste Duck Necks and Good Taste Milk Tea, which also form the basic foundation; one is the crazy cycle of loans and re-loans used to buy commercial properties, counting as real estate investments; and the latest one is the newly established Good Taste Takeout, an internet company.
Zhang Chunxue was sitting at this moment in the villa’s courtyard on a rattan chair, under the shade-filtered sunlight which was just pleasantly warm, and she smiled, shaking her head, "Now you’re educating me! Send the details to my mailbox later, I’ll take a look."
"Email is so troublesome, Auntie, I’ve already sent it to your QQ. You can see it with offline file transfer, and remember the touch screen phone we talked about before? Samsung’s recent release says it’s coming out this June."
It was probably a generational gap between those born in the ’70s and those in the ’90s; unlike using emails, Xu Qingfan and his peers were more used to using QQ.
"Got it, got it. Mom will talk a bit more, and soon let you talk with your brother," Zhang Chunxue said to her daughter with a slightly coquettish tone.
Zhang Yiyi, sitting quietly beside her, recalled a line from "Infernal Affairs 3," Three years, and another three years!
[Mom, that’s a lie!]
After discussing the company’s next business blueprint for another ten minutes, they were just one traffic light away from home.
Zhang Yiyi took the phone from her mother’s hand, and started enthusiastically, "Brother, Happy New Year!"
"Yiyi, Happy New Year too! Did you miss me?"
"Missed!"
"I missed you guys too, let’s all go out when Ning gets home."
"Okay!"
"How many red envelopes did you gather this year? You’ve got to treat me when we go out."
"Will treat!"
Xu Qingfan laughed helplessly, because talking with Zhang Yiyi was always him talking, followed by a brief one-word reply from the girl.
He said, "Yiyi, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Zhang Yiyi, hands cradling the phone, because of a habit formed in childhood, pressed the receiver tightly against her ear.
She looked at the tall plane tree in front of the yard, blinked, and then blinked again.
Just as Xu Qingfan thought she wouldn’t speak, Zhang Yiyi’s voice suddenly came through the phone.
"Missed you!" After a second, she added, "Missed you, brother!"
Her words, though less than ten in total, seemed to exhaust all of her energy, and she slumped into the rattan chair, holding her breath as she waited for the reply from the other end of the phone. 𝓃𝓸𝓋𝓅𝓊𝒷.𝓬𝓸𝓂
Xu Qingfan laughed, a genuinely joyful laugh, and said, "I missed you too, missed Yiyi!"
"Mmm!" The girl’s mood was like a fountain under the sunshine, overflowing with colorful beads of water.
